Authorized by the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, USDA will make payments to energy producers to expand the advanced biofuels market using eligible feedstocks like cellulose and crop residue.

The USDA will make payments to more than 160 energy producers in 41 states to support the production and expansion of advanced biofuels, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today.

The payments are authorized under the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels (www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_Biofuels.html), which is part of the 2008 Farm Bill. Payments are based on the amount of biofuels a recipient produces from renewable biomass other than corn kernel starch. Biofuels made from cellulose, crop residue and animal wastes are among the eligible feedstocks.

“Renewable energy production will create tens of thousands of direct American jobs; thousands more indirect jobs; and clean electricity to power millions of homes,” Vilsack said. The payments represent the Obama administration’s continuing commitment to work with producers to provide the biofuel necessary to reduce America’s dependence on foreign energy sources, Vilsack said.